After the War
by UH-60 NIGHTSTALKER
Summary: A series of 4 short stories about 4 of our favorite Avatar caracters.
1. Chapter 1

_ Chapter 1 :Toph_

Toph was laying down as she rode on Appa's back. The massive sky Bison flew along the sky with his companion and friend, Aang sitting on his head, guiding him. Normally, Appa would be Carrying the whole of "Team Avatar" on his back, but today, there were only 2. The first person was Aang and he was guiding his friend through the sky. His second passenger was Toph and she was just laying down in the saddle, "watching" the clouds as they passed by. As she laid there, she could could not help but to feel a bit of dread as she made her way to her destination. This was a feeling that the normally confident and proud earthbender would not have, and why should she. In the last 2 years, she had faced off with the forces of the mighty Fire Nation and lived to talk about it, also, she had become some what of a celebrity for her earth bending skills as well as being the only person in the world that could metal bend. By all accounts, she should have nothing fear about on this trip. But you see, the reason why she was feeling this way, was because of her destination. Toph was heading back to _Gaoling_ her home town and the home of the very wealthy _Bei Fong _family. Her parents

Toph had been lucky enough to be born in to a life of privlage and was the only child of _Lao _and _Poppy Bei Fong. _As a privlaged child, she should have enjoyed the perks that came with being from a wealthy family, but the fates played a cruel hand to Toph and she was born blind. Ever since leaning that there daughter would never be able to see, both Lao and Poppy went through great pains to ensure that there ' Disabled' daughter would be well taken care of and be protected. And for the first 12 years of Toph's life , they had done just that, 'protecting' her. Even going as far as hiding her very existence from the rest of Gaoling. The only other person to know about Toph's existence was her earth bending teacher, Master Yu and even then, he only thought her basics of earth bending, never going beyond the beginners level of training. Needless to say, Toph grew up to be a very rebellious child and she resented the treatment her parents gave her just because she was blind. One day, upset by how her parents were treating her, she ran away from home and hid in a cave that was not to far from her home that was inhabited by badgermoles, and through them, she was able to discover her own earthbending style and as a result, she became a very powerfully earth bender.

But for a long time, she kept her new found ability a secret from not only Master Yu, but her parents s well. The only time she ever really got a chance to 'show off' her abilities, was when she fought in the Underground Earth Bending Tournaments as the "_Blind Bandit"_ and over time, she racked up a pretty impressive winning streak (42-0). But one day, her life changed when she met a certain boy with a blue tattoo arrow on his head and he wanted her to train him to Earth Bend. At first, she was reluctant to teach him, seeing that he was able to defeat her in a fight. But it was when her parents saw what she was capable of doing and there refusal to allow her any freedom of any kind, did she finally decide to train him, leave her home and flee her over protective parents.

Of course, that was over 2 years ago and in that time, she had become well known as the most powerful earth bender in the world. Stories of her battles along side the Avatar against the forces of the Fire Nation traveled far and wide all over the world and every where she went , she was treated with the up most respect . Less they wanted to bring on the rath of the person that was not above sending sending some one flying through the air, with a pillar of earth any way. But now, after 2 years away from home, she finally decided to return home and face her parents.

"_What was I thinking?" _she thought to her self, as she rode on Appa's back.

She had not really made any attempt to contact her parents since she had left home, she had 'written' a letter to them a few years ago with the help of Katara when she was hiding out with the team in the fire nation. But she had never gotten a reply from them, that fact alone worried her just a bit. Even though she did not like the way they had treated her, Toph still loved her parents and her only real complaint she had about them was that they were too over protective of her. Even after her father and her "teacher" witnessed for them selves, what she was capable when they saw her take on a number of fighters by her self and defeat them with ease, they only thought was that she had too much freedom and that she should be kept under constant guard for her own 'safety.' Even when she pleaded with them, they were unable (or unwilling) to grasp the idea that their daughter was capable of fending for her self. Needless to say, it was that event alone, that made Toph decide to join "Team Avatar" and run away from home so she could train Aang.

Even after the war ended and Ozai was defeated, Toph was still very much reluctant to return home and face her parents. Opting to live in Ba Sing Se at her friend, Iroh's home. But after being away from home for so long, Toph began to feel a way that she thought that she would never feel. You see, Toph was feeling home sick. Never once since she left home did she ever feel this way, she did miss her parents, but never enough to want to see them again. But in the last few months, she had begun to miss her family and did not know why. At first, she tried to suppress the feelings that she was having, but eventually, she decided to go home and face them.

"Toph?" Aang said, "Toph, are you all right?"

" Yea, am fine. What's it to you?" She replied, in her normal gruff tone.

" Well, you've been awfully quite for the entire trip." he said, " is something wrong?"

" NOTHING! I'M FINE! Just drop me off and that's it!" she yelled back to him, causing Aang to flinch. He just turned back in front and concentrated on getting to Gaoling. After a few days of travel, Aang announced that they had arrived at the outskirts of Gaoling, Toph just breathed heavily and got ready to land.

After a few minutes, they came apon the massisve compound that was the Bei Fong Family estate and it was quite the spread. A testament to the wealth of the Family. The main house was located at the far end of the massive estate while the remainder of the grounds was taken up by a well groomed garden with a number of small ponds and it was all contained 4 walls that enclosed the entire grounds. When they landed, Toph jumped off Appa and said, " Thanks for the lift." and walked off in the direction of her home. Aang could have offered to join her and go with her for moral support when she finally met her parents, but he then remembered that Toph would most likely say "No!" and tell him to stay here. But he also know that this was something that Toph had to do on his own so he just sat there and wait with Appa while he watched his friend walk away to face her family.

At the front entrance of the Bei Fong compound, 2 of the family's personal guards stood watch for any one that might of want to see the family or what not. But by the way they were dressed, it was apparent that they had another duty as they stood by the gate. They were there to make it "look good" . As they stood there, they saw a lone figure approaching them from a distance. At first, they were unable to make out who it was but as the person got closer, they saw that said person was female and that she had on a green outfit, meaning that she was a citizen of the Earth Kingdom. At first, they were not sure of why this person was approaching them in the first place, people normally did not visit the Bei Fong family unless they were invited by one of the family, themselves. They were about to stop her when the she came up and flashed her Family Seal, did they finally said any thing...

" You!" the first one spoke up, " what are you doing with that seal? That is the seal of the Bei Fong Family!"

" Don't you know who I am? I am the daughter of Poppy and Lao Bei Fong, Toph." she said as a matter of factuality. " I'm here to see my parents."

The guards just looked at her like if she was crazy, " That is not possible, the Bei Fong's only have one child."

" Yea, and I'm it!"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but the family has no daughter, they only have a son and he is only 6 months old! Now tell me, where did you get that seal?" the second guard said.

Toph could not believe what she was hearing. " I'm telling you, I am their daughter! And what do you mean they only have a son? Out of my way, I am going to see then!" she exclaimed. The guards tried to stop her, but she sent them flying back using her bending, pinning them to the wall! Using her bending again, she opened the doors and entered the compound.

As she walked, she could feel the vibrations from the ground telling her that her parents were not far from her, as well as that more guards were on their way. As she ran tworads the house, her mind raced with a number of questions, " what do they mean that they don't have a daughter? What happened? When did they get the time to have another child?" all these questions flooded her mind as she entered the mansion. 2 more guards popped up and tried to stop her, but she easily subdued them by causing the dirt in a vase to blind them and then knocking then out cold. She was about to move on when she heard a voice call out, "Toph..."

Toph turned in to the direction of the voice and said, "Mother?"

" Yes Toph, it's me."

" Where's father?"

"He's in town on buisness, tell me, what brings you here?

" I came to visit you, but when I got to the gate, those 2 guards stopped me and when I told them who I was... they told me that it was impossible for me to be your daughter and that you only had a son." Poppy just sighed and said.

" I am afraid that was of your father's doing." she explained, " when you first left home, we thought that you had been kidnapped and forced to serve the Avatar, but one day we got your letter. How did you manage to write it?" she asked.

" My friend, Katara just wrote for me, and I told her what to write."

" Indeed. Well, we were happy to hear from you and that you miss us. We thought that when the war ended you would come home, but when you did not, your father became enraged and though that you rather be with your friends than with your family. He felt that you did not want any thing to do with us after the way we had treated you."

" So he chose to forget about me and start all over again?" Toph asked with her head down. Poppy just nodded, " I am afraid so, Toph. He thought of you as being un-greatfull for all the things we had done for you... "

" What you had done for me?" Toph exclaimed, " you kept me a secret form every one in the village! You treated me like I was some kind of helpless animal and caged me up like one! And when I showed that I was more than capable of fending for my self, you said that I had too much freedom and that I should be guarded like some dangerous criminal! I there's anything you did for me, you made me resent ever being alive!"

" Ye, I know Toph, and... I am very sorry that we treated you that way. We were only concerned about your safety but I realized a long time ago that it was our fault that we caused you to run away in the first place. " Poppy said as the tears began to flow from her eyes. " I know that you have every right to hate us for the way we treated you, but can you ever find it in your heart to forgive us... forgive me?"

Toph just stood there in a stunned silence. Her mother had not only just apologized for they way she had treated her, but was now asking for her forgiveness. At first, Toph thought that her mother was only saying this just to get her to leave, but when she felt that her mother's heart beat had not changed, was she finally convinced that Poppy was truly sorry and that she really wanted her daughter's forgiveness. Toph just walked up to her mother and hugged her, " I forgive you Mom, I'm so sorry if I had you so worried." she said as she could feel her own tears running down her cheeks, " I missed you so much."

" I missed you to, my little Toph." Poppy cried as she hugged her daughter, happy that she had forgiven her. The 2 just stood there, hugging each other, just happy to be together again.

For the next few hours, mother and daughter talked, filling in each other on what had happened to them over the last couple years. Toph was surprised when it turned out that she really did have a little brother named after her father, _Lao jr._ while Poppy was very much impressed with her daughter's exploits while she was with the Avatar. But finally, it was getting late and her father would be home in a few minutes...

" Do you have to go?" asked Poppy, "you only just got here."

" Am afraid I have to." Toph replied, " As much as I would like to stay, I would not feel comfortable living here if only you were happy for me while dad was not. It might cause a rift between you 2... and little Lao deserves to be brought up in a happy home. Besides, I have a new life now in Ba Sing Se, with friends. This is what I want." Poppy just nodded, understanding and walked with her daughter to the front entrance. But before Toph left to go her way, Poppy hugged her and said, " Toph, I just want you to know that I am very proud of you and I am glad that you came to visit. I just hope that your father will come to the realization that you are fully capable of fending for your self and that you are not as 'helpless' as he thinks you are."

Toph just smlied and hugged her back and said, " I hope so too."

" Will I ever see you again?" Poppy asked hopefully.

" Yea you will! I have a fight coming up in a couple of months. I'll have to be there to defend my tittle." she replied with a grin. Poppy could not help but to smile at her daughter's remark." don't worry, I'll visit."

" I just hope your father will be in a more understanding mood by that time." Poppy said.

Toph just smiled, " I hope so too. Good bye mom."

" Good bye Toph." she replied. They hugged once more and with that Toph left, leaving her mother alone at the gate smiling. Proud that her daughter had done so well for herself.

Toph could not help but to smile as she made her way back to meet up with Aang and Appa. As she walked, she felt like a great burden had been lifted off her chest. She was quite glad to hear that her mother was proud of her and that she no longer thought of her as being helpless. That thought alone canceled out any anger that she had about her father basicly disowning her. But then again, she was not expecting her father forgive her or even her mother. In all, the trip had gone even better than she could ever hope. But now, the only thing on her mind at that moment was how she was going avoid all the questions she was going to get from Aang when she meet up with him to go home.

" Hey Toph," Aang exclaimed as he saw her walking up, " How did it go?"

Toph did not say anything, she just hopped on to Appa's back and laid down on her back and said, " Lets go home, I miss Iroh's tea." With out a word, Aang just nodded, climbed up on to Appa's back and said "Yip-Yip!" and with that, the massive Sky Bison was off. All the while, Aang just every so often looking over his shoulder at Toph and thinking to himself, '' It went well'

" What are you smiling at, Twinkle Toes?"

" Uh... nothing."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 :Ty Lee._

_Kyoshi_ _island_ was a rather unusual place to say the least. For one thing, the island was originally not an island and was at one time, apart of the main land Earth Kingdom and the people were very loyal to there nation. But that soon all changed when the earth warlord , "_Chin the Great/ Chin the Conqueror"_threatened to subjugate them with his massive armies and bring them under his harsh, unforgiving rule. But it was only when Avatar Kyoshi used her bending skills and separated the peninsula from the rest of the earth Kingdom ( 'accidently' killing Chin) and moving them far out in to the southern sea, were they finally free to live out there lives in peace and for many years, they had done just that. The people of the newly founded island were very thankful for what Avatar Kyoshi had done for them and as a show of gratitude, they founded a new village one the very spot where she had separated the peninsula from the main land and named it after her.

Due to the islands relative isolation, the island and it's population began to develop a culture all it's own, far different than what was found on the main land. Every thing, from the construction of there homes and buildings,which were made out wood and designed in such a way that when it snowed, it would not cause there homes to collapse . To the clothes that they wore, which were generally light blue in color, rather than the normal dark greens, were all a far cry from what any one would have found in other Earth Kingdom villages. They even began to trade with some of the Southern water tribes, as well as began growing there own crops and they had a healthy fish supply to rely on for food. . As a result, Kyoshi island did not only survived its isolation, but thrived as well.

But don't think that for one minute that just because they were isolated, that they were defenceless. Oh no, for other than the elephant Koi that swam the waters off the island, Kyoshi was also the home of the Legendary _Kyoshi Warriors. _Named after and founded by _Avatar Kyoshi _herself, they were a group of highly skilled warriors, who's sole mission was to defend their island home from all that might want to conquer the island and enslave the people and they were quite the outfit. For one thing, they were all women! Every single member of the team were female in gender and they utilized a number of weapons to their advantage. From retractable shields, which they used defending them selves from an head on attacks, to metal fans which they used as their primary weapons. But quite possibly, their most effective ( and frighting) weapon they had at their in there arsenal, were their very apparence. They wore dark green armor kimonos, with a small katana like blade holstered at their side. But their most notable feature, was that there faces were painted white while their eye lids were painted red in color, giving them an almost demonic look. And what is more frighting than a group of enraged women coming at you with sharp weapons, that have every intent to do you bodily harm!

Now traditionally speaking, every single person that had dawned the uniform of the Kyoshi Warrior were native to Kyoshi island. But in recent years, there had been only 2 exceptions to this. The first person not of the island to be accepted by them, was a young warrior from the southern Water tribe who came to their island with the avatar. But even though he was willing to train with them, he decided to train some where else and soon left. The next outsider to join them was a young, energetic acrobat with a bubbly, outgoing ( possibly air headed) personality, who was not only invited in to the group, but was all to happy to join and become friends with them. She even enjoyed dressing up like the rest of them , which was kind of odd considering that for a very long time, she struggled to be different from every body else. Even taking up acrobatics as a profession just so that she could be noticed by every one. But now, here she was. Living on an island in the middle of the South Sea and she was now apart of the legendary Kyoshi Warriors. This was something far different from the life _Ty Lee _had while in the circus.

Dawn was now breaking on Kyoshi island. The dark sky of the previous night was giving way and retreating to the west, as the bright orange glow of a slowly rising sun arose from the east, bathing the island with its warmth. The morning air was moist and cold, a result of the rain storm that had showered the island last night. While the sounds of the local while life which were now waking up from there nights slumber, filled the moist air. In the villages that dotted Kyoshi, some of the townsfolk were now leaving their homes to start their daily routines, while others had already been up for hours getting ready to start their day's sales at the market. While still others just decided to wake up at a more 'godly' hour.

Soon, the sun's rays approached a house that was located at the edge of said town. The house itself, was a relatively new structure, for it had only been constructed 1year ago. But other than that, it resembled every other home on Kyoshi. An average home by their standards any way, but the occupant of said house, was far from an average Kyoshi and not just because she was a member of the Famous _Kyoshi Warriors_. For you see, she was from the _Fire Nation._

Ty Lee laid asleep in her bed. The young acrobat had been living on the island for over a year. She first came to Kyoshi not too long after the end of the 100 year war, as the Warriors newest member and for the last 16 months, she had been training along side her new friends, as well as, teaching them how to '_Chi Block'_ so they could include it into their already deadly arsenal. As the sun's rays began to peek into acrobats room, her eyes began to twitch and slowly open, revealing her dark brown eyes. Slowly (and reluctantly) she arose from her bed, while her long brown hair hung from her head , messy and unruly. But dispite it being morning, she still did not want to leave the warm comfort of her bed, but after about 20 minutes she finally convinced her self to leave the sanctity of her beloved bed and begin her day. Rather reluctantly, she sat up in her bed with her bare feet hanging off the side, slipped on her slippers and made her way to her bath room to freshen up. '_Why did I have to wake up so early. Why did I leave my bed?' _she thought to herself, as the cool morning air bit at her exposed skin, see that she had slept in the buff last night. She cursed her self for that as well.

After about 30 minutes, she emerged from her bath room and now, she was fully dressed. But instead of her Kyoshi uniform or her trade mark pink circus outfit, she wore a light blue shirt with matching baggy pants with brown shoes,while her hair was done up in its normal style. But most notably, her mood had most certainly changed. She was now her bubbly, carefree self. Ar far cry from her sour, dark mood that she had when she woke up. As she made her way to the kitchen to get her self some breakfast when something caught her eye. On the wall of her bedroom was a standard calender and on it, was a date that was circled. A little curious, she walked up and just looked at it. _'I know I'm supposed to remember something.'_ she thought to her self, as the analyzed the calender. But then, after standing there for 5 minutes, it finally hit her...

"_Oh! Today's the day!" _she exclaimed, remembering the significance of that date. She then sped into her room and slammed her door shut. A few moments later, she came out with a large bag hung under her right arm, exited her home with a speed and made her way to the village. Today was a special day for Ty Lee, for you see, today was the day of the big fishing trip and get together that was being held by the Kyoshi Warriors at a local beach.

The "Get Together'" itself was simply a beach party and fishing trip the Kyoshi warriors would have once a year, just so that they could take a break from there daily training, as well as to have an opportunity to just have a good time. They had held such get togethers every year, for a number of years. The only time that they didn't have such a gathering, was last year when the Kyoshi's went to war and were subsequently, captured by then Princess Azula and her traveling companions. Of which, Ty Lee was one of them. But that was a long time ago, Ty Lee had made her peace with them and now, she proudly dawned the uniform of the Kyoshi Warrior's. And now... she was going on her first official '_Beach Party_' with her new team mates and friends.

Quickly running through the still damp and slightly muddy streets of the village, Ty Lee made her way to the spot where she would meet up with the others members of her group. With all the skill that came with her many years of being a circus acrobat, Ty Lee made her way up the main street, passing a number of the village folk that were already up and were now getting their places of business ready for their days sales. All the while, performing acrobatic tricks when the opportunity presented it self. At one point, she did a flip over a vendor's fruit cart and snatched up an apple and ran off as she landed. The vendor was about to call her back and demand that she pay for it, but as he moved to go after her, it was only then that he noticed that she had dropped a few copper pieces and paid for it. He could only look in a stunned silence and wonder just who was that crazy woman as she vanished out of sight.

It was not long until she arrived to the 'rally point' where she would meet up with the rest of her team, which happened to be at the base of the statue of _Avatar Kyoshi. _As she approached said statue, she noticed that rest of her group had already showed up and were waiting for her...

" Glad to see that you finally decided to join us," one of them names, _Kora_ said, " what happened?"

" Well, I would have come sooner, but my bed didn't want me to leave! It said it would miss me if I left, but I convinced it that I would come back." Ty Lee replied sounding a bit guilty. This brought about some giggles from the rest of the group.

" Well, as long as you promised it that you would return. Now... lets head to the beach! I don't want us to be the last group there, all the good spots would be taken by then!" replied Kora

"You mean all the good 'boys' would be taken by then, don't you?" another one named Yuki said, this brought even more giggles from the group.

" That too! Come on, let's get going." the entire group cheered and with that, they were off.

The walk to said beach did not take too long and within fifteen minutes, they had all arrived to there destination. The beach itself was a very impressive sight, it was located in a relatively secluded bay and was about 2 ½ miles in length. The sand was fine and white, while the waters were a clear blue and you could see all the way to the sandy bottom, which was as white as the sand on the beach. At the mouth of the bay, was a semi-submerged reef that barely broke the surface, but was still keeping the rough waters of the open sea away. This ment that the waters inside the bay, were always calm, making it the perfect place for a beach party.

The group arrived and soon found a suitable spot to set up their 'camp', which consisted of a small tent so they can change it to their bathing suits in privacy, as well as, they set up some beach chairs so they could just chill out and rest. (As well as to allow any boys in the area to check out the merchandise). One by one, the girls went in the tent and changed it to their suits, while they waited for the rest of the party to arrive and begin. Most of the girls suits were simple one piece outfits with short skirts so that it would hinder them when if they decided to go swimming. They all looked very attractive in their swimsuit, which were the latest styles to come out of the Earth Kingdom, but it was Ty Lee's swim suit that stole the show. Her swim suit , was a 2 piece outfit that showed off her well toned stomach, while the short skirt complimented her long legs and her top showed off her ample bosom. She was 'Eye Crack' basicly.

" Whoa girl! Who are you trying to impress?" Kora asked.

" Hey, if you got it, flaunt it!" Ty Lee replied, as she struck a pose.

"Well, you certainly got it! Come on, the others should be here any minute." Kora said, as she grabbed Ty Lee's arm and made her way to where a large group of people were emerging from a path. Ty Lee just laughed and allowed herself to be taken by her friend to greet the others.

As the day went by, the party began to pick up steam as more and more people arrived and soon, the beach was packed! It was like the entire island had shown up, all the Kyoshi Warriors from all the villages were there. The only one that was not there to enjoy the festive atmosphere was the most famous of all of them,_Suki, _ans that was only because she was visiting her boy friend at the southern water tribe village. But that fact did not put a damper on things one bit, the party just continued on. All through out the day, Ty Lee enjoyed her self. Taking part in a number of the day's events such as the sand castle competition, where she and her group came in second place, and the fishing cometition, where she brought home the gold for the team when she came up to the shore, riding on the back of a large Elephant Koi. Needless to say, she won that competition hands down. But what was even more interesting was the fact that she had also gained the attention of several 'boys' that had gone there as well. Much to the dismay of their girl friends. But even though she enjoyed all the attention that she was getting, she kindly turned down their offers to either take her for a swim, or to go for a walk. But other than that, they day went one without any incidents.

The sun was now beginning to set on the day's festivities. The beach was bathed in the slowly descending sun's amber light as small camp fires added to the evenings atmosphere. But this point, every one had come out of the water and were now settling in for that evenings festivities. Ty Lee, along with the rest of her group, were now sitting around the small fire that they had started and they were just talking and bantering about their day's exploits and feasting on the dinner they had made out of the Elephant Koi that Ty Lee caught.

As she sat there, Ty Lee could no help but to think about how lucky she was to be apart of such a close team. She never felt such a feeling of belonging in her life, even when she live with her family, she never felt like she was ever special to them, seeing that she was the youngest of 7 sisters that all looked alike. That was why she ran away and joined the circus, to gain the attention that she was denied growing up. But now she was apart of a team that was willing to forget the past and allow her to be in their group. Ty Lee would never admit it, but she was very greatful for the kindness and friendship that the Kyoshi had shown her.

" Attention!" a voice called out, " Everyone, may I have your attention please?" the voice belong to Tara, one of the senior Kyoshi warriors on the island. " I would like to that every one that came out today. This has been one of the most successful get togethers that we have had for a long time, and I am happy to see that every one has had a good time." Every one there cheered at he statement, she continued to talk from on top the small stage that had been set up, " But know, I want to introduce some one that have not only proved that she has what it takes to be a Kyoshi Warrior, but has also gained the respect and admiration of her hole team. As well as I. During the war, she along with the rest of her team were captured by the fire nation forces and were imprisoned in one of there many P.O.W. Camps. While there, they were treated with the most up most brutality by there captors in an attempt to break their spirit. But like the true Kyoshi's that they were, they were able to over come their hardships and were able to resist their captors. Then one night, one of the fire nations guards came to one of their cells and proceeded to beat her unmercifully, but what was worse, he tried to... rape her. But luckily, she was saved by a person who was not only responsible for capturing them in the first place, but was also sent to prison herself for turning on her Princess. That night, she risked her own life to save a former adversary in her time of distress and as a result... she ensured that, that guard would never again hurt another person. That night, she did not only save a Kyoshi from a horrible fate... but she also saved my little sister." she said , as Kora came up to her,

" And know, I want to all of you to meet and welcome her to our family." ass she said that, Kora went out and pulled in a now stunned Ty Lee. Ty Lee remembered that night very well, she had heard the beating from her cell and was able to escape it and go to the aid of her friend. When she got there, she saw the huge guard standing behind Kora and his pants was down. With out thinking twice, she charged the fire bender and used her 'Chi Blocking' moves on him to great effect. But unlike her normal attack, she did hers in such a way that for the rest of his life, the would be rapist would be paralyzed from the neck down. Needless to say, that night was not one of her favorite memories.

Ty Lee just walked up to the elder Kyoshi with Kora pulling her by the hand, " Every one, this is Ty Lee. The one that saved my sister, and although she is not from our Island, she is forever one of us and I an eternally greatful for what she had done and has clearly shown that she is truly one of us. Now... I want all of you to give her a classic Kyoshi welcome to our ranks and I would be very proud, if not fortunate to fight at he side!

As Tara finished her speech, the crowed began to cheer and congratulate the young acrobat. Ty Lee for her part just stood there in a stunned silence, never in her wildest dreams did she ever think that she would have so much people chanting her name. All she could do was stand there and allow a small tear to escape her eye and run down her cheek and for the first time in her young life...

Ty Lee felt Special.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3 : Iroh_

" _After I reconquer Ba Sing Se, I will reconquer my tea shop and I am going to play Pai Sho every day!"_

That was the statement Iroh made the day he and the other members of the _Order of the White Lotus_ liberated the Earth Kingdom capital. The former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and general had a vision when he was younger, he saw himself in side the grand city and he was it's conquer. And on that day, he had done just that. But he did not do so for the glory of the fire nation, oh no,for it was the forces of the fire nation he was fighting against. The _'Dragon of the West'_ as he was called, had liberated the majestic city in the name of the Earth Kingdom.

On the day of _Shozin's Comet,_ Iroh under the title of _Grand Lotus_ lead the order into the Earth Kingdom capital, in an attempt to liberate the city. Because of the comet's effect on fire benders, the soldiers in the city were especially powerful that day, but as seeing that Iroh too was a fire bender and that he was a master of the art, he along with Jeong Jeong, ( another fire bending master) proved to be more than a match for the other Fire Nation soldiers and with the help of the other members of the order, liberated the city. Shortly after the war's end, Iroh was exonerated by the new Fire Lord, his nephew, _Zuko_ for all the 'Crimes' he did against the fire nation. After just spending a few weeks in the Fire Nation, Iroh moved back to his new home in Ba Sing Se and proceeded to reopen his Tea Shop and play Pai Sho every day and for the last 2 years, he had done just that.

As he did for the last 2 years, Iroh got up at the crack of dawn. Slowly, the old fire bender sat up on his bed, his eyes were still closed as if they were unwilling to wake up, even though their master was. His long gray hair was loosed from it's normal knot and fell lose around his shoulders while his gray beard was unruly and messy. After a few minutes, he finally convinced himself that he should get up to day and got out of his bed to begin his daily routine of getting his pride and joy open for the days sales. _The Jasmine Dragon._

The Jasmine Dragon itself, was the brain child of Iroh when he first came to Ba Sing Se with is nephew while on the run from the fire nation. While hiding out in the city, both Iroh and Zuko got a job at a local tea shop where he soon gained a reputation of making the finest tea in all of Ba Sing Se. One day while working in the tea shop, Iroh was given the chance to own his very own Tea Shop in the upper ring of the city. Iroh decided to go for it and thus, the Jasmine Dragon was born. At first, it looked liked the venture would be a success and that Iroh and his nephew would be able to start a new life, but sadly that dream ended when his niece, Azula along with her companions toppled the Earth king and not only captured the city, but Iroh as well. It would be a long time indeed before he saw his tea shop again and when he finally did, his heart almost broke. For during the fire nations brief occupation of the city, the had destroyed a number of the homes and businesses in the upper ring and the Jasmine Dragon was one of the casualties of this action. Although sadden at the loss of his tea shop, Iroh did not let this minor set back get him down. With the help of his nephew, the newly crowned Fire Lord, as well as the original merchant that had offered him to open his shop in the first place, Quon, Iroh reopened his tea shop with in six months and it had done well ever since.

After freshening up, Iroh made his way down stairs to the tea shop's kitchen and made himself a pot of his own special tea that he would drink every morning. It was a special brew, it was made from the tea leaves that came from a plant that only grew in the southern Earth Kingdom and was used by the people of that region as a stimulant for when they started their day. Iroh took in a big wiff of the tea sa he poured it into his cup, allowing the rich sweet sent to entrance him. "_ I'm glad that I brought that __case from that merchant,"_ Iroh though, as he gleefully sipped his tea. He had bought a case of the special tea leaves while he was in the city's main market. As he sat by the kitchen table and sipped his tea, he heard the door open and when he looked, he saw Toph standing there.

" Good morning Toph, did you sleep well?" Iroh asked his young friend, as she came up and sat down in front of him. Toph just grunted in reply. All Iroh could do was chuckle a bit at his young friends response. For the last 2 years, Toph had been living with Iroh at his tea shop and she had been staying in an guess room at his apartment. And truth be told, he very much enjoyed his young friends company.

" So Toph," he began again, while pouring her a cup of tea, " What are your plans for today?"

Toph just took a sip of her tea and then said, '"Morning Iroh. I just plan to get in some training today. I have to get ready for that tournament in a few weeks in Gaoling. I have a title to defend you know."

" Are you planing to visit your mother and brother while your there?" he asked. Iroh already knew about what happened when Toph went a visited her parents. He was sadden to hear that her father had chose to disown his only daughter and erase her from his life, but he was very happy to hear that she had managed to patch things up with her mother and over the last few months, he had helped Toph to communicate with her mother by both writing her letters for her, as well as reading out the ones that Poppy had sent to her.

" Yea, I am. And remember, she did say that she would be there to see me fight." Toph replied with a slight smile. " MMMMM! This is some good tea!"

"Thank you my young friend, remember the secret ingredient is love." he replied, happy that his young friend was enjoying his morning brew. After a little while, Toph said her goodbyes to Iroh and left to begin her training regiment for that day, but she promised to return by lunch time and help out in the Jasmine Dragon. This left Iroh alone to begin the days sales.

Because of Iroh's skills at making tea, the _Jasmine Dragon's _popularity quickly grew among the citizens of Ba Sing Se and even though the tea shop had only been open for only a year, it had already become an well established institution in the city and its owner, some what of a celebrity. But even though the tea shop was a huge success and was raking in the profits almost every day, Iroh did not allow that though to go to his head and he stayed rather humble, while any other person in his position would allow such luck to go to their head and cloud their better judgment. That was how a number of Iroh's tea house rivals went out of business. He could of just run the tea shop by himself and keep all the profits for himself, but instead, he hired a small team of persons to work in his shop and he even trained some of them himself in the art of making the perfect pot of tea. Also, with some of his profits, he began help sponsor a couple of orphanages in the city which catered to children that had lost their families because of the brutal occupation forces of the Fire Nation. He though in this way, he could atone for the sins he himself had committed when he was a general in the Fire Nation Army, as well as show that not all Fire Benders are '_ cold blooded and blood thirsty'_ as was still the popular belief.

All through out the day, people from both the upper and lower rings of the city came in, either to sample some of Iroh's famous tea, buy some of the pastries that were made by one of Iroh's employees, Jin or just to enjoy a game of Pai Sho with friends. It was lunch time now and the lunch time crowd was slowly beginning to trickle in. Iroh was in one of the back rooms, taking inventory of his many tea varieties in there so that he could know which ones were in stock and which ones he would have to place orders for. As he was doing this, he heard a large crash from out in front and some screaming. Alerted by the noise, Iroh slowly crept up from the back room and peeked out from behind the door. When he did this, he saw that every one in the tea shop were on the floor cowering in fear while some of his employees were huddled up in a corner. He also saw seven some what large men standing around the shop with their faces covered with masks similar to the one that his nephew wore when he was the '_Blue Spirit'_ and that they all had Katana's in their hands...

" Alright, listen up!" the one that seemed to be the leader and wore a red mask said, " this tea shop is under the control of the _Army of Ozai_ and all of you are now our prisoners! Our mission, is to restore our great leader, Fire Lord Ozai back to his rightful place, as the leader of our great nation and under his rule, he will return the Fire Nation to its former glory! And all of you are going to help us with with our plight by donating all of your gold pieces and what not to us!" and with that, the other men in his group began to collect their ill gotten gain from the hostages.

Still hiding inside the back room, Iroh heard every thing the man said and he could no believe what he was witnessing in his tea shop. He had heard the stories about how a number of fire nation soldiers that were still loyal to the fallen tyrant had gone awol when Zuko was crowned the new fire lord and were unwilling to accept the fact that Ozai , was not the '_Hero and Visionary'_ that they all thought his brother was.

" YOU!" the same one said, as he grab one of the employees by her hair, " Where is the safe in this joint?" The frightened employee could only stutter out, "I...I don't know. The manager is usually the one who put away the money at the end of the day."

"Wrong answer!" the man bellowed and raised his katana up into the air. The other hostages could only look on in horror, as it looked like this evil man would end this poor girls life and she would be sipping tea with her ancestors.

"STOP!" a voice yelled out, when every one turned they saw a kindly old man standing at the back of the room and that her was in a fighting stance. The "army" men just looked on at the old man.

" Who in the name of Ozai are you?" the leader asked. " I am the owner of this tea shop." Iroh said, " and I am only going to tell you once, unhand that woman and return all the money that you took from these people and leave my shop! Or else..."

The other men just looked at the foolish old man and laughed, " Or else what, old man? If you can't tell, we out number you 7-1! just do your self a favor and just give us the safe! We promise that we will only destroy your shop if give us it!"

" Your arrogance amuses me, you can have my safe but you have to go through me to get it." Iroh simply said, as he tightened up his stance. The men just grinned. "As you wish!" and with that, 6 of the men rushed him.

Iroh just stood there, allowing the men to get close to him. Then, Iroh quickly picked up 2 bowls that were in front of him and threw it at the men,breaking on impact on their heads and taking them out in the process. But soon had to move out of the way, narrowly being slashed by 2 of his adversaries. As he move away from them, he sent 2 more bowls flying but he only managed to knock down one of them this time around. But the forth one tripped over his friend and landed flat on his face, knocking him out cold. That only left 2 of them to face the old man. They were now a little thrown off by this man, he had already taken out 4 of their team mates, but they still felt that they could take him on. He was cornered now with no where to go, but most importantly, their were no bowls in his immediate area. That ment that he would completely helpless against them. But they were soon regretting attacking him, for as they advanced on him, Iroh made some fluid arm movement and fire bended, burning off all their clothes and leaving them in the nude. Needless to say, they quickly retreated from the tea shop with their hands crossed in front of them. That only left Iroh and the now shocked 'army' leader. This one old man had just taken out 6 of his finest men with ease and the fact that he was a fire bender did not help things either. With no other options left, the leader decided that now was the time to make a 'strategic withdrawal' and leave the tea shop with the little gains that he had.

With out a second thought, he darted out the front and it looked like he would get away. That is until a pillar of stone shot up from underneath him, sending him flaying through the air screaming all the way and landing on a nearby vending cart that had cabbages in it. " MY CABBAGES!" the vender screamed as he proceeded to repeatedly smack the would be bandit outside the head with a large stick, "and I thought it was safe to sell cabbages in Ba Sing Se again!"

Standing by the front entrance of the 'Dragon' , Iroh along with the rest of the staff saw every thing that had happened and wondered just where did that pillar just came from. But their question was soon answered when they saw a lone figure with short black hair and wearing a green outfit walking up the steps twords them. " Geez Iroh, you could have at least waited for me to come back first, before you had your place held up." Toph said with a slight smile on her face. " Next time I'll remember that." Iroh replied with a smile of his own.

Iroh and Toph, along with the rest of the Jasmine Dragon staff rounded up all of the would be robbers and held them in a made shift holding cell that Toph created with her Earth Bending until Earth Kingdom soldiers came and carried them off to a holding facility where they would be held until they went to trial, which would be held on another date. After they were taken away, Iroh and the saff began to clean up the tea shop as well as offering free tea to all those that were in the shop when it was attacked and by mid afternoon, the shop was reopened and business resumed as normal.

It was now after dark and the Jasmine Dragon was getting ready to close up for the night. Normally the popular tea shop would be open later that this, but after the attack earlier in that day, Iroh though that his employees deserved a little rest after the days events. Iroh was now dressed in his evening robes and was sitting at the kitchen table. But he was not sipping some tea that he would drink before he would go and sleep, in reality he was setting up a Pai Sho board and getting ready to play a game with his young friend. But this was no normal Pai Sho board, far from it. It was a specially designed board, that had small indentations in it so even if one could not see the board pieces, they would still be able know what pieces they had or how to move them on the board just by touch. Perfect for the game Iroh was about to have with Toph.

"Ah Toph, are you ready for our game?" Iroh asked, as he saw Toph enter the room. Instead of her trade mark green garb, she was now dressed in a brown shirt with a short pants that showed off her legs. Toph just nodded and their game began. As they were playing, Toph spoke...

" Hey, Iroh?"

" Yes Toph" he replied, figuring out how to make his next move.

" When those men attacked today, I noticed that you hesitated to use your fire bending to fight them. Why didn't you just fire bend one time and defeat them?"

Iroh just took in a deep breath and said, " Because, I didn't think that would have been needed."

" What do you mean?"

" When they first announced them selves, they came in and threatened every one with their swords. Since they did not fire bend, I saw no need to do so my self."

" But you still ended up using it to get rid of 2 of them."

" True, but that was only because I ran out of bowl to throw at them." He said with a smile, " you must remember Toph, just because you can bend doesn't mean that you should always use it. If you allow your self to be seduced by that in which you are given, it will destroy you. Just like it did Ozai, he allowed himself to be consumed by the power of fire bending. But Aang stopped him before he could do any more harm to not only himself, but to others as well."

Toph could only sit there and digest what Iroh had told her, and he was right. One of the great flaws of bending (especially fire bending) was that it was it was easy for the individual to be seduced and corrupted by that power and history had shown that to be true. " Do you think that I might become corrupted by my bending some day?" She asked fearfully.

" I don't think so, even though you are quite powerful you have managed to control power and the way that you learned how to use your ability is far different than how most learn how to Earth Bend. So you should not worry, you will be fine." he said to her.

" Thanks, but I think you should be worried Iroh" she said .

" And why is that?" he asked a bit Puzzled.

" Because," she then moved one of the pieces to a new spot on the board, " I think I just defeated you."


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 : Azula_

A lone Fire Nation vessel chugged along in the south sea. The vessel named "_Rock Fish"_ had left the Fire Nation capital over a month ago by orders of Fire Lord Zuko on a covert mission that was of the greatest importance to the Fire Lord and his family. The Rock Fish itself was not an impressive ship by any standards to say the least, the vessel was smaller by comparison to the other ships in the Fire navy and was over 30 years old. During the war, it was primarily used to haul coal for the fleet to use. But today, Rock Fish was carrying a far different from what it would normally carry. For the cargo was human, but to those that knew the true identity of the cargo, she was any thing but human. For you see, she was Azula, former princess of the Fire Nation and now... exile.

At one time she was the most respected (_If not feared)_ member of the Fire Nation royal family, the daughter of the now disgraced Ozai and the "banished" Princess Ursa. Even at a young age, Azula showed herself as quite a prodigy as a fire as well as, showing a natural cunning that soon made her the favorite child of Ozai , who soon began to groom her to be the next Fire Lord. As time passed, Azula began to develop a tendency for malice and perfection, as well as developing a lust for power. Even when she heard that her cousin, Lu Ten was killed at Ba Sing Se and that her Uncle had abandoned his 2 year siege of the city to mourn the loss of his only son, Azula considered him as loser and quitter. As time passed, Azula's lust for perfection and power, as well as her fire bending skill grew even more. At one point, she had forced her friend Ty Lee to leave the circus and join her on her mission to kill the Avatar. All the while, still remaining loyal to her father, who she saw as the ultimate symbol of power and perfection. The only person that she could even consider her equal. Even when her father found out that she had failed to kill the Avatar at Ba Sing Se and that he was very disappointed by her failure to kill him, Azula was still very much loyal to him.

But even though respected him and saw him as her only true equal, it was soon clear that he did not think of her the same way and to some extent, he even feared her. That fact soon became evident to her when she found out when only a few days before the arrival of Shozin's Comet and when he was going to lead the final attack on the Earth Kingdom, Azula was shocked to find out that she would not be apart of the operation. Even though she was offered and accepted the title of new Fire Lord, she still felt betrayed by her father. Distraught by his refusal to bring he along on a mission that where they would essentially show them as equals, Azula takes his as an offense to not only herself, but her pride as well. Even if she was to be the next fire lord, that title was meaningless now because her father would still out rank her as the _Phoenix King _and it was soon evident to her, that the only person that truly ever loved her , was not only ashamed of her but was afraid of her lust for power. Azula was unable to cope with this revelation and slowly, her already fragile mental state began to crack. But the final tipping point came on the the day of her coronation, when her brother and a water bender by the name of Katara came to the city and did battle with her. She thought that with the arrival of Shozin's Comet, coupled with her own expert skill as a fire bender, she would be able to defeat the 2 of them. But as it turned out, it was the young water bender that managed to defeat her by cleverly freezing the both of then in ice and chaining her to the ground. It was at that point that Azula finally snapped and Zuko and Katara could only look on in pity and horror as she slowly descended in to madness in front their eyes.

Azula was a broken woman after that that day. The once proud Fire Bender and princess was now an empty shell of her former self. This was proven when it came time to move her to her prison cell. When it came time to move her, a large number of benders from both the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes were present. Even the Avatar was there, just in case things got out of had while moving her. Every one was expecting the worse when the cart carrying the metal box to hold her came up and Azula was unchained, they all expected the unstable bender to still have some fight in her but what she did shocked all of them. With her head hung low in shame, Azula allowed herself to be shackled by her wrist and ankles and she quietly entered the box. All the while never making a sound, except for the occasional soft sob. Even on her long trip to her new home at the Boiling Rock, where a special room was being constructed for her, she still remained silent. Even up to the point where she was placed in her room, which was basicly a lager version of the coolers that the prison had, she still never made a sound.

But that soon all changed one week after her arrival at the prison. One day with out any warning, Azula just burst out in a ranting tirade. Yelling at anyone and everyone that would care to listen to her. She would yell about anything, from her food which was a lot better that what the other prisoners were getting, to how she was the fire lord and that she should not even be there and that she should be released so that she could take rightful place as the leader of the Fire Nation. That went on for almost a year, then her tirade went from complaining about her treatment at the prison, to threatening the prisons guards and that she would make them pay dearly for there in imprisoning her. But soon on her third year at the prison, she began to sob again. But it was not like the way she had when she was defeated, but it was one filled with guilt and remorse. She would cry, day in and day out, saying that how sorry she was for the way she acted, and who she wanted to apologize to her brother and to her friends , Mai and Ty Lee for the way that she had treated them and she would beg to see them so that she could say that she was sorry. But then, after 3 years of tirades, shrieks, crying and pleading, Azula finally fell silent.

For the next 2 years, all Azula did was sit silently on her bed with her knees pressed agaist her chest and her arms hugging them tightly. Her black hair had long since recovered from when she had tried to cut it herself and was now reaching to her lower back. Her skin was now paler than usual, a result of her 5 year stay in that room/cell of hers, that was constantly set at low temperatures so that she could not fire bend. Only her warmth came from her prison uniform which consisted of a loose fitting shirt and pants. But it was her eyes that showed that she was truly a broken Fire Bender, for if any one could see into them, they would see that they were now hollow, devoid of any hope of freedom. She would just stair at the cell door and wait for her daily meals to come.

Then one day as she was awaiting her daily meals , something happened that she was not expecting. For as she sat there awaiting the tell tail sound of the small slid in the door opening, signaling the arrival of her meal, the cell door opened for the first time in 5 years. Azula had to shield her eyes, for the light coming through the door was a lot brighter than what she had seen in the last 5 years. Then, 4 men dressed in Fire Nation soldier uniforms came in and proceeded to place her in shackles. Normally she would have been able to easily defend herself from these men, but now, her years of being exposed to the cold air of her room, as well as, her lack of any form of exercise, had left her body frail and weak. She did not put up any kind of a fight, as the men carefully placed on the wrist and ankles. Then as they were done with this, they placed a blind fold on her, preventing her from seeing any thing abd lead her out the room. She did not know how long she was blind folded, but she could tell that she was leaving the prison when she felt a swaying sensation under her feet, that ment that she was on the Gondola that was the only link on that island to the out side world. When her blind fold was finally removed, she noticed that she was below decks on a ship, and judging by the construction, it was a fire nation vessel. And for the last 2 weeks, this was where she had been.

She was placed in a specially built cabin below deck. It was constructed in the hole of the ship that would normally contain large amounts of coals for the fire nation fleet. It was basicly a large metal box that sat in the middle of the compartment and just like the room she had at the Boiling Rock, it was cooled so that she would not be able to fire bend. As she sat there in her room/ cell, she could not help but to reflect on her life and where it had lead her to. For years, she had been envious of the relationship between her mother and her brother. She would wonder why was it that her mother was closer to her brother than with her, wasn't she her child too? And if so, why would she shun her? But then she remembered how her mother would scold her for for all the unkind things that she would say to her brother. Of how she would say that she was born lucky while Zuko was lucky to be born. It was like every thing she did disturbed he mother, driving her further away from her and closer to Zuko. And then there was the day that her mother was banished. Azula could not help but to feel betrayed by her mother. She left her family behind so that she could save Zuko's life. But when her mother left, she did not feel sorry that she could no longer be with her family, but instead she felt anger that her mother left her.

She then began to think about her father. Ever since she was small, her father always seemed to favor her more over her brother. Because of this, Azula strived to become a powerful bender like her father and earn the love and respect that she so desperately wanted. But instead of gaining her father's respect, she soon realized that the man that she could truly call her equal did not respect her, nor did he lover. Once again , she had been betrayed by some one that was supposed to love her. She then began to ask her self why, why was she here locked up like some dangerous wild animal. She had been the lucky one, she was the gifted one, why was she here? By all accounts, she should have been fire lord and not her brother. She had all the grooming to become fire lord, but here she was, on a ship heading who knows where. But then it soon hit her, she truly was a monster. She allowed herself to be consumed by her quest for power and control and all that had got her was a broken spirit, no friends or family and 5 years in the fire nations most notorious prison and for the first time in her life, Azula truly felt guilt and she began to cry again.

"_Why are you crying Azula?" _she heard a soft female voice say. When she looked up to see who it was, Azula saw the one person that she didn't want to see at that moment. For standing if front of her, was he mother, Ursa...

" Go away!" She yelled, "leave me alone!"

" _Now now, Azula. You know you can tell me any thing. I am your mother after all."_

"That's funny, because when you were around, you were always Zuko's mother and not mine." she spat out," remember, I was a monster in your eyes. Not your daughter. You didn't love me!"

"_Azula, I never thought that you were a monster. If any thing, it was your father that was a monster."_ Replied Ursa, " _And I did love you."_

"No you didn't! You loved Zuko more than me! You were always there to help him, to stand up for him. Why didn't you treat me the same way?"

" _because you had your father, dear. Your father was always ready to spend time with you, leaving your brother out in the cold as it were. If I had only known what kind of a man he was, I would have tried to spend more time with you. Now tell me, what's wrong?"_

Azula could feel the tears run down her cheeks. She had heard what her mother had said, and she knew she was right. If she had only known what type of person her father was, she would have spent more time with her and if she had done just that, maybe she would not be in the situation that she was in now. Azula just sighed and said, " It's just that, why me? Why did I end up this way? I tried to be the person that my father wanted me to be, but now look at me. I'm a disgrace to our family. I have no friends, and I have no family" she began to cry a little more, " and it's all my fault! I deserve to be in here, I deserve to be locked up. I don't even deserve to be allowed near anyone else! I wish I could change the past, BUT I CAN'T.! I even wonder why Zuko didn't have me killed when he had the chance. Tell me mother, why me!"

Ursa just stood there and said, " _I guess it is partly my fault. If I had only spent more time with you, maybe your life would have turned out a little different. Maybe you would have been able to realize just how much of a monster your father was and stopped him. If it's any one that have disgraced the family, it was him and not you. You were just a pawn in his sick game. Just another victim of his madness." _

"But, why did you leave us, you could of stopped him." Azula asked.

"_I did not have much of a chose. It was either leave or allow your father to kill me in front of you and lent him do even more damage to the both of you." _she told her daughter as she walked up to her, "_Know this Azula, I did love you as much as I did Zuko. It's just that your father corrupted you befor I could get a chance to show how much I really loved you. And despite of what you've done, I forgive you Azula." _

Azula just sat sat there and let what her mother just said set in. she then said " I love you too mom." but as she looked up, she soon realized that she was all alone in her cell.

2 days later, the Rock Fish entered a small bay at the south pole. The ship slowly glided into the bay, making sure not to hit any of the small ice bergs that were there. At this point, Azula was brought up from her cell and was now on deck. She was now dressed in an snow suit similar to the ones that were worn by the women of the water tribe, but this one was dark red and had the symbol of the fire nation on the back. As she looked out to the shore, she saw that there were a couple water tribe sailing ships docked near a small jetty. But what really got her attention, was the some what large metallic structure that had a strong fire nation influence in its design. A few minutes later, the Rock Fish docked at the jetty and Azula was escorted off the ship by a group of soldiers. As they made they way to the structure, Azula also noticed that there were 4 large crates packed with care near the structure that had fire nation markings on it, as well as there were a lot of water tribesmen there.

Moments later , the group made it up to the structure and allowed Azula to stand in front of them. Then, a man dressed in fire nation garb came out of the house. He greeted Azula formally and said,

"_Princess Azula, by order of his greatness Fire Lora Zuko, you are to live out your life at this compound. With both the blessing of the Southern Water Tribe and the Avatar, this home has been set up for you and has been equipped with all the modern utilities of your home so that you stay herewould be a comfortable one." _Azula was at a loss for words, she was just told that her brother had given an order for her to be released and to have her live out rest of her days in peace.

" But... But why would he do that? Why down here?" she asked.

" Because, he decided that you had been punished enough, as well as, you deserved a chance to live out you life in peace. He said you suffered enough, you deserved a chance to start over."

Azula was in a greater state of shock, than she was when she first found out that she was free. Her brother, the one that she at one time considered a weakling and infeiror to her, was now allowing her a chance to start over. He could have just given the order to have her killed , but instead, he was giving a new life. All Azula could do was fall to her knees crying and thank the spirits that her mother had a great influence on her brother.

_A/N: This is the final instalment of this story. If you want a follow up story let me know ans I will see what I can do. _

_Which much respect, UH-60._


End file.
